The Armada Service

Armada Service

Armada Service at the British Museum
Material	Silver
Size	Diameter 12.1cm (min)
Created	Late 16th - early 17th Century AD
Present location	British Museum, London
Registration	M&ME 1992,6-14,1-26

The Armada Service is a set of at least 31 silver dishes that was owned by Sir Christopher Harris (c. 1553–1625) and his wife, Mary Sydenham, of Radford House at in Devon, England. Twenty-six of these dishes are now owned by the British Museum.

During the 16th and 17th centuries amassing silver was usual for wealthy English families, including royalty, the rich and the famous. Such collections served two distinct purposes – to boost family prestige and pride and to act as an investment. In the case of the silverware in the Armada Service (also known as the Tudor Service) the gilded silver, variously dated between 1581 and 1601, was collected by Sir Christopher Harris, of Radford House in Devon, and his wife Mary Sydenham, as the ancestors of the Harris family of Radford. Harris was an appointed Commissioner for Booty at Plymouth under Sir Walter Raleigh. He was elected a Member of Parliament for Plymouth in 1584 and was Vice-Admiral of Devon during the reign of James I.

One source claims that the service is "one of the most important groups of English silver to have been found in England." The parcel gilt dishes were engraved on their sides with the arms of Harris and Sydenham, and bear London Hallmarks for the years 1581, 1599, 1600 and 1601. As a set of relatively plain objects, in which the bullion value may have exceeded its artistic worth, this Service represents "the unique survival of a type of utilitarian plate which is listed in the inventories of the gentry and aristocracy of the late Tudor and early Stuart periods."

The etymology of the hoard's name is subject to speculation by scholars. Notably, the Spanish Armada debacle/triumph occurred in 1588. It may have a connection to New World silver captured and pilfered from Spanish treasure ships. 31 pieces were "commissioned to mark the conquering of the Spanish naval fleet and used at a dinner thrown" at Harris's estate in Radford. Some have hypothesized a connection to the Madre de Deus (Mother of God), a Portuguese ship captured by the English circa 1590. However, Sir Christopher Harris worked for Sir Walter Raleigh in the British Admiralty during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). His acquisition of these dishes in a relatively contemporaneous time may mean they "represent the profits of his office".